DHS
by Harpomatic
Summary: High school AU. Follow the core characters through the various things that happen in high school.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was the last day of school and Delphine had a plan, she'd been building up the nerves to actually _carry out _the plan for weeks. She tried to ignore her surroundings, the sounds of fellow sophomores excited for summer, and began to reason with herself. _What's the worst that could happen? She's your best friend. She'll always be your friend, regardless of how she reacts. _The bell rang and her classmates, now juniors, left the classroom loudly. The blonde rose and followed, she looked into the hallway and saw her friends at the other end, with Cosima, now a senior, in the very middle. Delphine took a deep breath and made her way towards them, steeling herself more with each step she took. Cosima noticed her when she was about fifteen steps away, she smiled, at ten steps away, Cosima noticed her best friend's tense demeanor, she cocked her head to the side, at five steps away, she opened her mouth to speak,

"Is something wro-" Cosima was cut off by the blonde girl grabbing her face and pulling her into a kiss. Cosima stiffened in surprise, but only for a fraction of a second, before returning the kiss with equal fervor. They pulled apart after what seemed like minutes. Cosima leaned her forehead into Delphine's, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," She breathed, grinning widely. Delphine smiled back. They were pulled back into reality when Alison cleared her throat to remind them of their surroundings. The two turned towards their friends, now holding hands. Everyone, except for Felix, who looked somewhat pained, was staring, gape-jawed, silent. Sarah was the first to speak,

"Fucking finally."


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Set 3 months after prologue

Delphine parked the car and looked to Cosima in the passenger's seat. The brunette flashed her a smile,

"You excited?" She asked.

"Oui." Delphine nodded.

Cosima chuckled. Her girlfriend had an astoundingly thick French accent, so thick that often their friends had trouble understanding her, the set of braces she had certainly didn't help matters. Cosima, though, never had trouble understanding her, even when they first met.

The two grabbed their stuff from Delphine's backseat and got out of the car. When they met at the front of the vehicle, Cosima grumbled.

"I swear to god, you grew like five inches this summer." Delphine smiled,

"Six, en fait," she corrected the much shorter girl. Cosima scoffed in response. They'd ended the previous school year relatively the same height, but while Cosima only gained a couple of inches, Delphine had shot up, and there was now a four inch height difference between her and the older girl. The couple was about to walk up to the school when Delphine spotted the truck, "There are Sarah et Felix," she said, nudging her girlfriend. The truck parked next to Delphine's car. Sarah and Felix climbed out. The two girls greeted them and Cosima turned to Sarah,

"Where's that scraggly boy toy of yours? I have a purchase to make." Sarah shrugged,

"Cal'll be here in a little while, he texted me earlier and said he was running late."

The group conversed for a few minutes until a Bronco swung into the lot and parked beside Sarah's truck, out jumped Cal, Sarah's boyfriend, who greeted him with a kiss. Cal turned to face the others.

"Holy shit," Cosima muttered. Cal was no longer the awkward, gangly boy she'd known. The boy was still tall, but he'd grown into his height since the last time she'd seen him, he was broad and muscular, and the patchy bits of hair that had been on his chin had grown into a full beard. Cosima saw Delphine's eyes widen in her periphery, obviously as surprised as her.

"You guys can stop staring now, yeah? He was hot before," Sarah chastised, Delphine shook her head slightly in disagreement. Cal bit his lip and smiled shyly.

"I'm sorry, Sarah, it's just…how?" Cosima asked, now turning to Cal, "I saw you like a month ago. How did this," she gestured to Cal's new physique, "happen in that short amount of time?" Cal shrugged, still blushing. Felix spoke up,

"Come on guys, we're going to be late," he looked around, "where's Alison?"

"Oh, she is probablement already inside, she wanted to be à lˡheure," Delphine responded, trying to enunciate as much as possible.

"What was that, Frenchie?" Felix laughed. Cosima shoved him,

"Shut up, you know what she said," she wrapped an arm around the blonde, "anyway, the accent's hot." Felix chewed his lip and looked away, an unreadable expression taking over his features.

Cosima fell back, matching the pace of Cal and Sarah, "Now that you two lovebirds have had time to catch up after what I'm sure was a very _long _eighteen hours, Cal, I have a purchase to make." Cal nodded and reached into his messenger bag, he pulled out a baggie and tossed it to the brunette,

"That'll be forty bucks."

"_Forty?_ Jesus Christ, this shit had better be good."

"You know it is," Cal said, motioning for the girl to pay him, "and I'm already giving you a discount." Cosima scoffed and handed him two twenty dollar bills.

The three seniors walked in silence, Delphine and Felix walked ahead, talking.

"Has Felix been acting weird to you guys lately?" Cosima asked.

"Kinda. I think he's just nervous about school," Sarah answered, "actually, I think he might have a crush on Delphine," She added, smiling. Cosima shook her head, knowing that wasn't true, but she let it go as they entered the building. The gang filed into their respective lines to collect their schedules.

After everyone had met back up, they began to compare schedules until Sarah spotted Alison,

"Oi! Ali! Get your skinny ass over here!" She cried, waving to their friend, who laughed and made her way towards the group. She pulled each member into a hug, but stopped short when she looked at Cal,

"Jesus Murphy," the girl squeaked, looking him up and down.

"Don't worry, Alison, we've already discussed it," Cosima told her. Alison just nodded and pulled the boy into a quick hug. Sarah rolled her eyes. The group returned to comparing schedules, Alison and Cosima had first period together.

"I still can't believe you chose to double up in science this year," Cosima said, looking at Delphine and grinning. The blonde just shrugged,

"Well, I have physics with you and Cal now, so it will be fun." Cosima nodded in agreement. Delphine looked back at her schedule and frowned,

"Wait…I was put in General Music…I did not sign up for that, I signed up for Advanced Anatomy." Cosima sighed,

"Yeah, that class is mainly for seniors, so they get first pick," she explained apologetically. Delphine looked heartbroken when Felix spoke up,

"Don't worry, I'm in there too, it's a total blow off class, it's an easy A and it's only for a semester." The younger boy reassured her. Delphine just nodded, she fully intended to transfer out of the class when she had the chance. After a few more minutes of talking about classes, various teachers and sports tryouts, the bell rang and the group split up and headed to their respective classes.


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Third period rolled around and Delphine was filled with dread. Regardless of what Felix had said, she didn't want to be in the General Music class, making an easy A, she wanted to be in Advanced Anatomy, learning about things that actually interested her. She took a deep breath and entered the classroom. It was already noisy, students were throwing paper and joking loudly to one another, she sighed. Hopefully she'd be able to speak to a counselor after school about transferring to another class. Her eyes scanned the room for a moment before Felix, waving his arms, caught her attention. She made her way to the back, maneuvering around various students, and sat down in the seat Felix had saved her. The younger boy seemed excited to be in class, "Don't worry, Frenchie, I know you don't like it right now, but the teacher doesn't care what you do in here as long as you finish the worksheet, and even then she doesn't really grade them, so you'll have an A the entire time, and at the end you'll have a Fine Arts credit," he whispered conspiratorially. Delphine nodded, still uneasy. The bell rang and the teacher introduced herself, students talked over her the entire time she was speaking, but she didn't seem to care, she finished her spiel and handed out the worksheet they would be doing that day.

Soon, Delphine and Felix were laughing about the stupid answers they were putting down and talking about various things they'd done over the summer. The two were having a lively debate about the pros and cons of pep rallies when they were interrupted by another student in the class who had been watching their exchange,

"Are you guys dating?" He asked obnoxiously. Felix and Delphine both laughed and shook their heads, "Why not? Are you gay or something?" The intrusive student asked Felix. Felix blanched and was about to stutter a reply, but Delphine spoke before he could begin,

"Non, I am. I have a girlfriend." She replied, smiling politely at the intrusive boy, who nodded and turned back in his seat. Delphine rolled her eyes at the boy and looked back to Felix,

"Imbécile. I didn't want to get into the topic of bisexuality with him. I doubt he'd understand," she finished, smirking. Felix just smiled uncomfortably. The bell rang before Delphine could question his shift in mood, and Felix gathered his things quickly and practically ran out of the classroom. Delphine just shrugged and grabbed her stuff. She made her way to her next class, thinking it wouldn't be all that bad to spend a semester in there, laughing with her friend.


	4. Chapter 3

Cal made his way to the outbuilding for his seventh period class, one he was very excited for, Wood Shop. He'd learned freshman year that he had a natural talent for the craft, and had taken it every year since then, except this year, he got to be the teacher's assistant. He'd get to teach other class members how to use the tools and help them make various projects. The boy smiled, hoping that his position would allow him to make larger things like desks. Cal entered the small building and looked around at the students already there. He started when he saw Sarah standing at the table nearest the front, a sly grin on her face.

"Sarah? What are you doing here?" Cal asked, beaming.

"Well, I heard that this really cute boy was gonna be the teacher's aide this year," She said, looking around, "have you seen him?" She finished, smiling at the tall boy, who shrugged.

"No, I don't think I have, sorry." Cal replied apologetically. The two laughed and shared a quick kiss before Cal made his way to where he was supposed to sit, suddenly more excited for this year than he already was.


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! I'm really really sorry about how long it took me to update. I moved recently and have been getting settled. I will publish more frequently in the coming days! Enjoy!**

The six friends were gathered in the gymnasium, all dressed in their gym clothes, talking about the various sports they were going out for.

"Are you _sure_ you want to be in cross country?" Cal asked for what seemed like the tenth time, "I've heard that people get jumped during the meets." Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure. And anyway, if anyone tries to jump me, I'll punch 'em in the throat." She said reassuringly. Everyone was surprised when Sarah said she'd be running cross country, but she insisted that it helped her focus more in class, and she loved to run anyway, why not put it to use? The group nodded in agreement.

"I think the real question is how the _hell_ Cosima is still on the volleyball team." Felix chuckled, looking at the girl, "She's like four feet tall." The girl rolled her eyes.

"I think you know why, Felix. Cosima "Powerful Thighs" Niehaus can jump higher than anyone else on the team." She was right, even the coaches had scoffed when she'd shown up for tryouts the previous year, but they were quickly surprised by the girl's astounding ability to jump, making her an excellent blocker. That, partnered with natural competitiveness and fierce tenacity made her perfect for the team.

A whistle signaled the beginning of class and everyone followed their respective coaches. Alison with soccer, and Delphine, with lacrosse, walked outside to the field.

"So, you think you'll make first string this year?" Alison asked a nervous Delphine.

"I hope. My growth spurt definitely helps my chances." Delphine replied, more to reassure herself than to answer Alison, who smiled encouragingly.

"I'm sure you'll make it, I have complete confidence in you." Delphine grinned, Alison had no problems getting onto the soccer team in freshman year. She'd been playing since third grade, she was cunning, agile and often ruthless on the field. Her ability to dodge and weave around her opponents earned her the position of tea, captain. An assurance from the talented older girl made Delphine feel much better. Eventually the girls separated to their respective teams so they could begin. The coach informed the girl's lacrosse team that they'd begin with laps. Delphine and her classmates, who seemed much shorter now than they did at the end of the previous school year, lined up and began running when the coach blew the whistle. After the first few laps, the other girls began to lag, but not Delphine, who still felt great.

Once laps were over, the players lined up to practice their shots. Delphine remembered back to the beginning of the summer. Cosima had reluctantly agreed to help her train for the next season, but had shown up to her house the next day, declaring that she had spent three hours the previous night researching lacrosse and its rules. From then on, they spent three hours a day, three days a week preparing Delphine. They worked on each position with equal fervor so Delphine would have a better chance at making the first string, but towards the end of the summer it became increasingly apparent what Delphine was best at, shooting. With her ability to use both arms with equal power, she could easily get the first home position. She was practically unstoppable, but with Cosima as a goalie, almost any shot was unstoppable, Delphine chuckled. She sobered when she realized it was almost her turn. The girl fiddled with her stick and tried to calm her nerves. _You practiced all summer. You can do this. _

The coach called her name, breaking her out of her stupor. She made her way to the ball that was waiting for her on the ground. She picked it up with her stick and let herself get comfortable with it. The coach, who was now standing in the goal, blew the whistle, signaling her time to begin. Delphine took a deep breath and lifted her stick. She jogged a few steps and planted her right foot into the ground. She twisted her body, letting her momentum travel from her legs, up through her torso, and finally into her shoulders. She moved her stick the front of her body, whipping the ball out of the net and towards the goal. The ball whizzed through the air and into the upper right corner of the goal so quickly the coach didn't have time to react.

Time sped back up and Delphine looked around at her classmates who all looked surprised, some flashed her stunned thumbs up signs. Her coach nodded in approval and gave her a "nice one" before blowing the whistle for the next player. Delphine returned to the line. She stood for a few seconds, reflecting on her shot before she felt someone touch her shoulder. She turned around to see Cosima and Felix grinning widely.

"That was freaking amazing!" The shorter girl exclaimed.

"Good job, Frenchie!" Felix said, high fiving the Delphine, who returned it halfheartedly.

"You saw that?" She asked sheepishly.

"Of course I did! I trained you for like three months, I wanted to see the fruits of my labor." She punched the younger girl in the arm playfully.

"I just wanted to get out of gym." Felix said.

"You did great, I'm serious." Cosima said, pulling Delphine into a hug. "Okay, we have to get back. We sorta snuck away to watch this." Delphine's eyes widened.

"Vous les gars ont besoin de quitter! You are going to get in trouble!" She said, shooing them away, but not before Cosima leaned up for a kiss.

"Bye, I'll see you later!" Cosima said, grinning.

"Au revoir!" Delphine said, "Goodbye Felix!" She added, waving to the younger boy. Felix waved in return and the two made their way back to the gym.

The rest of the class went by quickly, with Delphine practicing her shots s few more times, each shot varying in form but constant in result. She was unstoppable. At the end of class, as she was walking back towards the locker room, the coach clapped her on the shoulder, "Congrats, Cormier."

"On what?" The blonde asked.

"You made first string. You'll be playing first home." The coach said, before walking away. Delphine was too stunned to say anything. She regained her senses as she entered the locker room, immediately spotting Cosima by her locker, still changing, and now it was her turn to be surprised as Delphine pulled her into a hug from behind, she lifted the older girl off of the ground and squeezed her before setting her back down and turning her around. Cosima looked nothing short of shocked.

"What? What's wrong? Are you okay?" She fired off worried questions. Delphine just laughed.

"Yes! I'm alright! I made first string!" Delphine said excitedly. Cosima's features broke into one of the widest grins Delphine had ever seen. Cosima used her powerful thighs to jump onto Delphine, wrapping her legs around her waist, and pulled her into an excited kiss, Delphine kissed back until Sarah swatted her on the soulder, reminding her that they were in public. The two pulled apart, but Cosima did not get down. Alison entered the locker room to see the two girls in their position. She cocked her head questioningly. Cosima turned her head,

"Delphine made first string!" She said, happily. Alison clapped excitedly.

"See? I knew you could do it, Delphine!" Alison said, making the blonde smile even wider. Alison maneuvered her way around Cosima, still latched onto her girlfriend, and hugged Delphine.

After a few more seconds, Cosima hopped down to let Delphine change and to let herself finish dressing. The four girls left the locker room and met Cal and Felix, exiting the boys' locker room, Cosima relayed the good news to them. Cal smiled and gave her a congratulatory clap on the shoulder. Felix gave her another high five, this time Delphine returned it wholeheartedly. Cosima grabbed Delphine's hand and the six made their way to their classes.


	6. Chapter 5

**Hi again! If you guys haven't noticed, this fic doesn't really have a plot, per se. The events do occur chronologically, but often problems from one chapter will not carry over to the next chapter, so basically this is just a series of vignettes. I'm having a great deal of fun writing this, and I appreciate all the follows/reviews. This fic is sort of like a writing exercise for me, as time goes on I'll go in and improve previous chapters by expanding upon certain ideas/instances. I have big plans in store for this fic, and if I ****_do _****decide to end it, i will let you guys know. Thanks again, enjoy!**

Sarah was having trouble making her way through Cosima's living room, something that was never a problem for her, except now it was full of people, most of which she didn't know or just vaguely recognized from school.

It was the first Friday of the school year, and Cosima's parents were out of town, giving Cosima the bright idea to throw a party. Sarah was a little aggravated at her having to shove her way to the kitchen, but less aggravated than she would be had she not already had two beers and a light contact high from the people smoking around her. The party was loud, there were at least forty people in attendance, she was surprised by how many people had shown up, but Cosima, being the social butterfly she was, didn't really mind. _"It's a party, the more the merrier, it's a good way to make friends." _She had said. Sarah bet that she was regretting those words now that there were dozens of drunk teenagers making a mess of her house. She finally reached the kitchen, where she ran into Cosima and Cal talking to some kid from their physics class.

"Oi! Cos! How the hell are you gonna get these people outta your house?" She slurred.

"It's fine, Sarah, my parents won't be back until Monday, I have plenty of time to clean up." Cosima reassured her, "Have you seen Delphine?"

"Yeah, we're hangin' out in the living room, I just came back for more drinks." Sarah answered, pulling two bottles from the ice chest. Cosima nodded.

"Sarah, how much have you had to drink?" Cal asked.

"This would be my third, why?" Sarah replied, cocking her head at her boyfriend.

"No reason, I just wanna make sure you don't cause any trouble." Cal said, grinning. Sarah scoffed.

"You know I don't cause trouble." She said, making Cal roll his eyes.

"If you say so." He replied. Sarah smiled and left the kitchen.

As she made her way back into the living room towards where she and Delphine were talking, she saw the younger girl being talked up by none other than Paul Dierden. She didn't know Paul well, she knew that he was in the same grade as her, in JROTC, on the football team, and that he was an asshole. He was inappropriately close to Delphine, occasionally he'd lean into the girl's neck, whispering things that made her look even more uncomfortable. Sarah took a deep breath and remembered Cal's words. _Don't cause any trouble, don't cause any trouble_. She walked up to the two and stood beside Delphine, who visibly relaxed at Sarah's return.

"Hi, Paul, how's it goin'?" Sarah asked, trying not to be too standoffish.

"Nothin's up, just talkin' to Delphine over here." The boy replied, his speech was slurred, but not slurred enough for him to not realize how he was behaving.

"That's great, but I need Delphine's help with something in the kitchen." She lied, beckoning for the blonde girl to follow her. Delphine sighed in relief and tried to move, only to be blocked by Paul putting his knee against the wall, trapping her in the corner. This made Sarah's blood boil, she felt her cheeks heat at the boy's actions.

"Delphine's fine just where she is." He said, lazily running his finger through her bangs. Delphine stiffened.

"Please let me go." She muttered, trying to break free from the senior's body. He wasn't budging. Sarah grew indignant.

"Oi! Paul! Let her go!" Sarah said.

"No." The muscular boy said, nuzzling into Delphine's neck. The blonde shoved him away, appalled.

Paul barely had time to react before Sarah's fist flew into his nose, causing him to stagger backwards. He looked at Sarah for a moment, stunned. She was wild eyed, burning with rage, waiting for Paul's reaction. The boy flew at her, something she was expecting, she caught him by the shoulders and pushed him back the other way, landing on top of him. She punched him two more times before Paul flipped her over and began hitting her. Sarah endured the punches and reached blindly for his face, grabbing a hold of his nose and jerking it sharply to the right. The boy shouted in a mix of pain and rage, Sarah used his distractedness to get out from under him, kicking and flailing until she was on his back, holding him in a chokehold with one arm, smacking him with the other. Delphine stood, staring at the two, too buzzed to really know what to do. By now a crowd had gathered around the three, cheering on the brawling teens.

Cal and Cosima were joking about something dumb their physics teacher had said the other day when Felix and Alison bounded in.

"You have _got_ to come see this." A less than sober Felix giggled. Something about Alison's demeanor told the two that the situation wasn't as humorous as Felix found it. The four left the kitchen and pushed through the crowd to see a bewildered Delphine watching Sarah, who was on Paul's back, hitting him repeatedly, her hair flying, her limbs moving rapidly.

"She-told-you-to-leave-her-alone!" She yelled, punctuating each word with a hit to Paul's ribs.

"Jesus H. Christ." Cal said, pushing to the front, leading the other three. Felix stood by Delphine, cheering Sarah on, while Cal, Cosima, and Alison all gathered around Sarah, trying to avoid her hits, and grabbed ahold of her still flailing body.

"Hit him! Hit him, Sarah! Tear him apart!" He shouted, excited by the whole situation.

"You're not helping, Felix!" Cosima grunted, helping to pull a thrashing Sarah off of the boy, who was also throwing elbows.

The three teens finally managed to get Sarah away from Paul, she seemed to calm down a little, so Cal and the others let go of her. The tall boy helped Paul up and the two others went to stand beside Felix and Delphine, Cosima slipping a hand in hers. Cal stood between the two of them, both still breathing heavily, bowed up like two wild animals. He looked at them, Paul's lip was split, and he had a cut above his left eyebrow, and a long red mark along the left side of his jaw that would surely turn into a bruise later on. Sarah had a bloody nose and a series of red marks and scratches peppering her cheekbones.

He looked to Alison and Felix, "Go get them towels to clean themselves up." He motioned towards the kitchen. The two nodded and silently left. Cal turned back to Sarah and Paul.

"So, _what_ happened?" He asked. The two teens spoke at once. "No, nonono no." He shook his head, "You." He looked to Paul, "Tell me what happened."

"I was talking to Blondie here," Paul pointed to Delphine, "and _she_ just came up and sucker punched me." He motioned to Sarah. The girl's nostrils flared and Cal thought she was about to come at the boy again.

"You know that's not true, you wanker!" She looked to Cal. "Paul was creeping on Delphine and wouldn't let go of her even after she asked him to stop." She finished, eyes blazing. Cal turned to Delphine, who was still wide eyed.

"Is this true?" He asked her. She nodded.

"Oui. He was being very invasive, Sarah was just trying to help." She said, her accent thicker than usual in her inebriated state. Alison, Cosima, Cal and Felix all turned their attention back to Paul, who looked more embarrassed than anything.

"Well…that's inappropriate and immature." Alison said, glaring at the boy.

"Yeah, bro. Not cool." Cosima said, her arm now wrapping around Delphine's waist. Paul just scoffed.

"I think it's time for you to leave-"He turned to the crowd. "I think it's time for all of you to leave." Cal said, looking to the crowd, who began to file out of the house. "Who's driving him home?" A boy stepped forward and grabbed Paul to lead him out. Cal had almost turned around to face his friends when Paul spoke up.

"Bye, blondie," Paul waved condescendingly to Delphine, and then to Sarah, "bye _bitch_." Sarah was ready to pounce, but didn't have time to before Cal whipped around and let his right fist connect with Paul's nose with a deafening crack.

Paul staggered for a moment before he collapsed with a loud thud, blood trickling out of his definitely broken nose. Cal turned around to his friends, holding his reddened hand.

"That guy is an _asshole_."

The others were too stunned by the usually pacifistic Cal resorting to violence to do anything other than nod in agreement. Cal exhaled and turned back to Paul's friend, who was trying to drag him out of the house. "It's okay, I've got it." He said, hoisting Paul over his shoulder and carrying him to his friend's car. Even going as far as putting the unconscious boy's seatbelt on and giving his friend money for gas.

When he returned inside, the house had cleared out except for Sarah, Cosima, Felix, Delphine and Alison, who were all helping clean up.

"I'm sorry about that, it was a little bit much." He apologized.

"No, mate, that was bloody _awesome_." Felix said. Cal just shook his head and started picking up trash.

"I'm sorry for wigging out in the first place." Sarah said, looking to everyone. Delphine furrowed her brow.

"Non, Sarah, do not apologize. He was being a creep, and I was too drunk to react. Thank you for getting him to back off." She said sincerely, pulling the older girl into a hug. The two went back to cleaning up.

Later, after the house was completely clean, and the six of them were in Cosima's living room, smoking and watching TV, Cal leaned into Sarah and whispered,

"What was that about never causing any trouble?" The girl just grinned and readjusted the icepack on her cheek.


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I'm really sorry that it's been so long since my last update. I was going to update last weekend but I got appendicitis and have been recovering/catching up on schoolwork for the past week. I'm loving all the reviews/follows, thank you! Once again, I have big plans for this fic, and if i decide to discontinue it i will tell you. I love writing it, i feel like it's helping me get better at digging deeper into actions and fleshing out ideas more. enjoy the chapter!**

Delphine never smiled with her mouth open, not for pictures, not for jokes. Regardless of what amused her, she would react with a closed mouth smile. It was rarely because the smiles weren't genuine, it was because she hated her teeth. She hated her overbite, she hated the way the bottom ones crowded together at odd angles, she hated how big the top two were. Everything about her teeth, Delphine loathed.

In the summer before 8th grade, when her family moved to America, she finally got braces, after years of torment from her peers and begging her parents. She wasn't necessarily fond of how they looked, or how they made her accent impossibly thick, but she recognized that they were better looking than her teeth, and that in time she'd get them off and her teeth would look great.

By the time she'd met Cosima in 9th grade, her closed mouth laughing habit had already stuck, but occasionally the older girl could make her laugh hard enough that Cosima would catch a glimpse of her teeth.

Cosima though her girlfriend's teeth were endearing. She liked how thick they made her accent. She thought her shy, closed mouth smiles were cute. She' never seen a Delphine without braces. Even in childhood photos-the ones Delphine hadn't hidden-Delphine's mouth was closed. As far as Cosima was concerned, Delphine's braces were just a permanent part of her. Cosima understood, though, that Delphine was insecure about them, so aside from the occasional reassurance, she never mentioned them.

Delphine had been acting secretive all week. When she'd shown up to Cosima's house the Saturday before, she was cheerier than usual, and when Cosima had asked what was up, she had just smiled and shaken her head. The blonde girl remained in her whimsical state through the weekend and into the following week. Cosima hadn't let up on her questioning, but every time she pushed Delphine, she was met with an even wider grin and another shake of the head.

That Tuesday, Delphine, Sarah, and Cosima were in study hall, talking about the party the previous Friday.

"Have you seen Paul? His nose is _totally_ fucked up." Cosima whispered, "It's all purple and shit, and it's swollen. He looks freakish." Sarah, sporting a bruise on her cheek, just laughed.

"Yeah, I saw him coming in this morning. He wouldn't stop staring at Cal. It was bloody hilarious." The two looked to Delphine for her thoughts, but found her staring into space with a pleasant smile on her face. Sarah looked to Cosima for an answer.

"I don't know, man! She's been like this Saturday! She won't tell me anything other than, "Nothing's wrong, don't worry."" Cosima explained exasperatedly. Sarah just scoffed, and the two went back to talking about the party.

After a few minutes, an office aide came into the library and handed the librarian a note. The librarian looked around the room and called out,

"Delphine Cormier?" Successfully pulling Delphine out of her haze. The girl smiled widely, wide enough for her braces to show. She stood, gathered her things, and bent down to give Cosima a kiss.

"Whoa, whoa, where are you going?" Cosima asked. Delphine just smiled another cryptic smile.

"You'll see."

"What the bloody hell does that mean?" Sarah asked. The blonde looked at Sarah like she'd just realized she was there.

"Oh, allô Sarah, I will see you later." And with that, Delphine retrieved the pass from the librarian and left the library.

Over the course of the next few hours, Cosima had texted Delphine three times and didn't receive a reply for any of them. The brunette wanted to be worried, but remembered how happy Delphine had seemed and decided that whatever her girlfriend was doing was a good thing.

At lunchtime, Felix, Sarah, Cal and Alison approached Cosima.

"So do you have any idea where she went?" Alison asked.

"No, dude. All I know is that her car isn't in the lot and that she was _really _happy before she left." Cosima explained. The others nodded.

"Well what are you doing for lunch?" Cal asked.

"I normally have plans with Delphine for lunch, but she's not here, so I don't know." The girl shrugged.

"Oh _please_," Felix said, rolling his eyes, "we all know that you guys' "plans" are just the two of you making out in Delphine's car for the first forty minutes and then going to get food at that crappy Chinese place down the street."

"Hey, it is _not_ crappy. They make _really_ good Lo Mein. And besides, it's fun." Cosima said, not even trying to deny it.

"Do you want to come with us today, then? We're probably gonna get something from that deli a few blocks away." Alison asked.

"Sure! Thanks a bunch," the girl answered, "are we all going in Cal's car?" The others nodded and all made their way to the parking lot. They loaded into the Bronco, with Sarah in the passenger's seat and Alison and Cosima on either side of Felix.

Cosima enjoyed lunch, she really did. It's not like she enjoyed Delphine's company more than she enjoyed theirs, she was just curious. She wanted to know what Delphine had been so happy about, and why she had refused to let her in on it. So between conversations she found herself checking Delphine's various social networking accounts, she found nothing until she came to her Twitter account,

_ Delphine1221_

_ "Today's gonna be great #secretssecrets" _

Cosima figured it was worth a try to reply to her,

_ Cosima_Treehaus_

_ " Delphine1221 What are you hiding?"_

Afterwards, Cosima put her phone away and didn't look at it for the rest of lunch.

It was now the end of 5th period and Delphine had been out of school for three hours. Cosima had sent four text messages and one tweet, but had received no response. She packed up and headed to her 6th period class, moving especially slowly. The late bell had just rung and Cosima wasn't near her class yet. She was bored, she didn't look forward to the rest of her day without Delphine, she wouldn't get to see her in PE and she wouldn't get to practice French with her after school, and then she didn't even know what she was going to do for a ride home, she could probably get a ride from Alison. Could she ride her bike to Delphine's house that evening to find out where she went?

Cosima was knocked out of her thoughts when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped and turned around, only to see Delphine smiling her closed mouth smile at her.

"Oh my god! Where the hell have you been? I was getting worried." Cosima scolded, pulling the blonde into a hug.

"I had some errands to run." Delphine said slyly, pulling away, "What did you do while I was gone?"

"Well, I wondered where you were, then I went to lunch with the others, which was a lot of fun, but I missed what we normally do," Cosima grinned and nudged Delphine, "and then I sat through English, and then I was walking to Calc, and then you showed up. More importantly, though, what did _you_ do?" Delphine looked away and smiled,

"Like I said, errands." Cosima grinned, accepting that Delphine wasn't going to tell her just yet.

"Well, they must have been some _very_ important errands if they made you leave school for three hours without telling me why, leaving me to waste away in class, with no you in gym shorts to look forward to…" Cosima said. Delphine laughed, flashing a bit of her teeth. It caught Cosima's eye.

"Something's different." The shorter girl declared. Delphine cocked an eyebrow.

"I have no idea what you mean, cher." Delphine smiled again.

"Smile again, please. Something's different." Cosima said, now in investigation mode. Delphine shook her head, smiling with her mouth closed. "That's not what I meant!" Cosima laughed, "Come on! Smile again!" She began jabbing the blonde playfully in the ribs and stomach. Delphine finally laughed, opening her mouth enough to show Cosima her teeth.

Her braces were gone.

"Whoa… what the fuck…your braces are gone." The older girl stared, too stunned to say anything else. Delphine grinned even wider.

"Yeah! I'm sorry I didn't tell you, at first I was too excited and then I wanted to surprise you." Delphine explained, looking to Cosima, whose expression was still blank, her head cocked slightly. The blonde's grin wavered, "You're not made, are you?" She was nervous now. "I really am sorry, I just thought the best way to tell you was to show yo-" She was cut off by Cosima's lips crashing into hers. Delphine was surprised at first, but she warmed to it quickly. Cosima pulled away, but not by much,

"Why would I be mad? Your teeth are amazing, and you're obviously so much happier now, which is really hot." Cosima put her mouth to Delphine's neck, her hands slid just below her shirt, running them along the blonde's hips. She pulled back again.

"Why don't we…" she kissed Delphine's neck again, causing her to sigh, "leave early, and go to my house?" She proposed. Delphine nodded vigorously, and the two of them quickly ran downstairs and left the building hand in hand.


End file.
